Going Pro

i know this type of thread has been posted millions of times.... but i want specific answers to my case..
i am 17(just turned) 5'10-11 and have been playing tennis since 8-9 years old
i am very good but am looking to take my playing to the next level. I would like all of you to help me out in guiding me to what diet, when to exercise, how long to train etc. in order to achieve the greatest results i can.
yes, i do play competitively, having won a few tourneys (18's).
NO i dont want any posters telling me i cant. I DONT CARE. because thats not what im here for,,, thanks to anyone who contributes

i know this type of thread has been posted millions of times.... but i want specific answers to my case..
i am 17(just turned) 5'10-11 and have been playing tennis since 8-9 years old
i am very good but am looking to take my playing to the next level. I would like all of you to help me out in guiding me to what diet, when to exercise, how long to train etc. in order to achieve the greatest results i can.
yes, i do play competitively, having won a few tourneys (18's).
NO i dont want any posters telling me i cant. I DONT CARE. because thats not what im here for,,, thanks to anyone who contributes

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You don't give any good information at all. post a video, give some stats, what star recruit are you, your shoe size...etc

We dont, since he didnt tell us if he has a rank of some kind. But there are many different grades of itf junior events and sometimes unranked players can get into the low grade ones. Same with futures, if you can find a tournament that doesn't attract many entrants you can get into the qualifying without having a ranking at all. Its really not that uncommon in the futures....

If this kid really wants to go pro, than at his age he needs to experience playing at the kind of level that he needs to be at and assess whether or not its realistic for him to advance to that same level.

Maybe go to you're nearest big city (Seattle, San Deigo, Miami, ETC) enter an open tournament and see how you do against all the local club pros, division I players, futures level touring pros who play down for cash prizes, ETC.

If you can hang in this atmosphere you may want to consider registering with the ATP via their web-site. They have a form that you have to fill out, pay a registration fee, get a player number, ETC. You have to have registered with them before you can enter any level sanctioned professional tournament.

Before doing any of this you should get yourself in to see a physical therapist and get a consultation on your anatomy. The extreem conditions that professional athletes place on themselves, their joints, soft tissues ETC. take a tole and they take it quickly if one isn't prepared for the rigor. From here you can begin conditioning with the goal of staying healthy in mind. It will take alot of effort to strengthen you're body not only for performance but also for injury prevention and longjevity.

There are a lot of different routes you can take to get better at tennis, both physically and mentally. Just remember that it costs an extreem wage both monotarily and physically to travel and exercise rigorously, and live out of a suit case, and play, and travel, and eat, and play, and travel ETC.

It's worth mentioning that eating a balanced diet of all the main food groups is a good place to start. The human body preforms well when you impement a balanced, practical diet of meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, dairy, ETC. Try and stay away from processed (fast) foods, extreem sugar overloading, extreem anything. Just use common sense in this area. Diet is about dicipline. It's easy to get on a healthy diet and hard to stay on it.

I would like all of you to help me out in guiding me to what diet, when to exercise, how long to train etc. in order to achieve the greatest results i can.

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If you are asking the board for answers to these questions, then you obviously aren't on the touring pro career path. You should have a personal coach training you (or spend time at an academy) if you want any shot at becoming a pro. That is what you will be competing against. You can't go to your weekly lesson and do everything else on your own because you won't get the results as quickly. By the time you catch up to the others, either 1) your parents will kick you out of the house and make you get a job, or 2) your body will be declining due to age.

Only the privileged make it on the pro tour. Thats just the way this sport is.

If you are asking the board for answers to these questions, then you obviously aren't on the touring pro career path. You should have a personal coach training you (or spend time at an academy) if you want any shot at becoming a pro. That is what you will be competing against. You can't go to your weekly lesson and do everything else on your own because you won't get the results as quickly. By the time you catch up to the others, either 1) your parents will kick you out of the house and make you get a job, or 2) your body will be declining due to age.

Only the privileged make it on the pro tour. Thats just the way this sport is.

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well said, if you were in the elite level with a possibility of going anywhere somebody would have found you by the time you are 17. Winning 18's tournys would have certainly got someone's attention if they tournys were of a high level. There are coaches everywhere looking for star pupils, college scouts etc

Why not aim for a free college degree as your number one priority and then see where that takes you.

nobody knows what you're capable of and what you're willing to do except you. If you're willing to eat, breathe, and sleep tennis anything is possible. First off you will need to get in tremendous shape, I've yet to see a 17 y/o who was fit enough to endure pro tennis.

You need to be so fit that you can exchange long rallies and when it's deep in the 2nd or 3rd set you're leg and abs aren't letting you're serve down. And you're not getting there a split second late cause if you're there milliseconds later than normal you're giving up a shorter ball which in high level tennis is the death wish.

That being said I know guys in their late 20's still playing the satellites, it's a tough life and I don't think they come out ahead financially ie their family is footing part of the bill or they come back to teach and strike out again. Oh and they are very good but in the world of pro tennis they kinda suck. So know when you've reached your plateau and when to call it quits, helps to have a supportive family with some deep pockets cause the travel can be expensive.

You should also post a video cause some of us with some knowledge may be able to give you an honest assestment. Also it matters which region you won your tourneys in.

why ask questions to a forum of mostly 3.0-4.5 league player, some coaches.
I have a 6.0 friend(former ATP), if he had a tennis question he wouldn't ask it online, but ask his tennis coach 1st.
Then if he felt mean, he post the same question online and there be 1,000s of reply. The thing is the he never reply.

why ask questions to a forum of mostly 3.0-4.5 league player, some coaches.
I have a 6.0 friend(former ATP), if he had a tennis question he wouldn't ask it online, but ask his tennis coach 1st.
Then if he felt mean, he post the same question online and there be 1,000s of reply. The thing is the he never reply.

Just give it a shot.
If you're close to Open levels, have the big shots and can somewhat mask your weakness'es, go enter every tournament you can at that level, including Q's.
If you regularly go 3-5 rounds in those Open/Q's, you know you have a chance.
If you normally don't win at least a couple rounds, maybe more work is needed.
Don't think about it, spend a season trying.

your no where close to being good enough...if you were anywhere close you would know what you would have to do...you wouldn't be asking an online message board you would be asking your full time pro coach....you wouldnt ask us about what to eat cause you would ask your full time nutrition coach. you wouldn't ask us how to get in shape cause you would be training right now with your full time physical trainer...get my point...?

i know this type of thread has been posted millions of times.... but i want specific answers to my case..
i am 17(just turned) 5'10-11 and have been playing tennis since 8-9 years old
i am very good but am looking to take my playing to the next level. I would like all of you to help me out in guiding me to what diet, when to exercise, how long to train etc. in order to achieve the greatest results i can.yes, i do play competitively, having won a few tourneys (18's).
NO i dont want any posters telling me i cant. I DONT CARE. because thats not what im here for,,, thanks to anyone who contributes

i live and play in the miami region, i just dont want to give out my name,,, sorry to anyone thinking im a troll poster.. im not.

thanks alot to the few who gave worthwhile comments... i really appreciate it

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For the advice to be of any use and constructive it needs to be pitched at the correct level. To expect people to spend hours posting advice with a thousand caveats based on assumptions on your ability is unreasonable.

So give us more information whilst still concealing your identity. Is your national ranking 0 - 100, 101 - 200 etc? If not ranked, what are your scores against ranked players? How often do you play tournaments? What is your training set-up like?

Your chances of professional tennis will be heavily dependent on how "professionally" you approach the game of tennis - including how you utilise and approach sources of information.

i live and play in the miami region, i just dont want to give out my name,,, sorry to anyone thinking im a troll poster.. im not.

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play qualies of the florida futures. that will let you know where you stand and what kind of work you have in front of you. Playing ITF and junior tennis is not the best way to spend your time as you are already 17. They are good for getting match play but if your goal is to be a pro then start playing the mens opens in the area that have prize money and play the futures in florida.

Tell us your national ranking. You do realize that many juniors who were ranked number one go on to play college tennis, right? And it's probably for the better to. Take a look at Donald Young. He owned his junior competition, but is now struggling on the pro tour. You gotta ask yourself, "Will I be satisfied playing futures and occasionally challengers for my entire career?" If you want to live that gritty lifestyle then perhaps you might make it if you forget your studies, and focus solely on your tennis game from here on. But why work your ass off for a trashy tennis career? Going to college and getting a degree will do wonders for your life, so no matter how good you are, think about college tennis.

I'm not sure we need to know his rankings.....
As a good "B" player back in the late '70's, I entered the ProQ's for the TransAm tournament in SanFrancisco and won 3 rounds first season, 4 rounds the next, and I never bothered to look for rankings or ratings. Win ONE more match would have put me into the main draw. Who cares? I didn't make it by a LONG shot....
OP just needs some weapons and some smarts....and should at least go for it ONCE in his life. If you never try, you'll never succeed.
Of course, if you try and fail, at least you tried.

i live and play in the miami region, i just dont want to give out my name,,, sorry to anyone thinking im a troll poster.. im not.

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You live in one of the most tennis dense and competitive areas of the country. You can't swing a dead cat in that area without hitting someone with real tennis expertise. If you had the talent to be a pro someone surely would have spotted you by now.

Perhaps you should take seriously the people in this thread who have suggested that you should aim for college. Play for your high school team and see if your coach there can help you get noticed so that you can get a decent college education.

i know this type of thread has been posted millions of times.... but i want specific answers to my case..
i am 17(just turned) 5'10-11 and have been playing tennis since 8-9 years old
i am very good but am looking to take my playing to the next level. I would like all of you to help me out in guiding me to what diet, when to exercise, how long to train etc. in order to achieve the greatest results i can.
yes, i do play competitively, having won a few tourneys (18's).
NO i dont want any posters telling me i cant. I DONT CARE. because thats not what im here for,,, thanks to anyone who contributes

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If you make it to #1 singles in your college and win several NCAA championships on the D1 level, then you have a chance.

If you've only won a few tournaments, don't count on it. If you've played National Open tournaments, and won a few, NOW we're talking.

Though since I doubt you've played any big junior ITF events and haven't started playing ITF Future tournaments yet, that means you're REALLY behind. Your best option now is to do college tennis. If you do really well there, then you have a chance on the pro tour. Otherwise, you're just looking up with false hope like everyone else.

Pretty much the only way of knowing you're going to be a pro is if you do ITF Futures events and have had success on that level at the age of 16 or early 17. After that, the only chance you have left is doing well in D1 college tennis and winning NCAA championships. If you can't, you're not going any higher.

You know if you REALLY wanted to go pro and you REALLY believed you could do it and you had the means you could just start living the life of a pro right now.

You could quit school or working or whatever and just start entering futures events and travelling/practicing/playing tournaments every week.

Actually making money/supporting yourself while doing this is a whole different story though. Bottom line is if you think the risk of making it is worth the time and effort that you need to put in to get there than there isn't anything stopping you.

I know a few guys who have backed themselves and practiced and saved hard to try and have a good 6 months-1 year crack at the futures and did long tours around the world in search of ranking points. None of them really got anywhere but at least they gave it a go and really gave their dream a shot. Not many people can say they have done that and none of those guys regret what they did one little bit.

i know this type of thread has been posted millions of times.... but i want specific answers to my case..
i am 17(just turned) 5'10-11 and have been playing tennis since 8-9 years old
i am very good but am looking to take my playing to the next level. I would like all of you to help me out in guiding me to what diet, when to exercise, how long to train etc. in order to achieve the greatest results i can.
yes, i do play competitively, having won a few tourneys (18's).
NO i dont want any posters telling me i cant. I DONT CARE. because thats not what im here for,,, thanks to anyone who contributes

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If you are 17 and you don't allready know what to do to reach the top, you will never reach it. You need to be 6.0+ at 17 to have a chance, let alone make it. Are you ?

i know this type of thread has been posted millions of times.... but i want specific answers to my case..
i am 17(just turned) 5'10-11 and have been playing tennis since 8-9 years old
i am very good but am looking to take my playing to the next level. I would like all of you to help me out in guiding me to what diet, when to exercise, how long to train etc. in order to achieve the greatest results i can.
yes, i do play competitively, having won a few tourneys (18's).
NO i dont want any posters telling me i cant. I DONT CARE. because thats not what im here for,,, thanks to anyone who contributes

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I might be able to help you out, let me just ask a few things:
Could you post a video of yourself practicing? If you dont wanna show your face just put on a robbery-mask then play.

Have you played ITF:tournaments? If so, How did you do? What does your coach tell you when you ask him this?

"what to diet, what to exercise and how long to train"- There is no correct answer to this, what works for Average Joe trying to become pro doesnt necessarily (most cases dont) work for you. Lots of coaches worldwide makes this mistake imo, tries to get everyone in under the same roof, for some its great but for some its terrible. Human beings (tennisplayers included) are INDIVIDUALS.

How does your body respond to tough workouts? Does it recover fast? Are you done growing?
Answer this and ill try to help you.
I just wanna add a few things, im not judging you, one should always reach for the stars and then maybe one will land on the moon BUT become a professional tennisplayer is EXTREMELY hard.

Thats unfair and not correct, Jonas Bjorkman was ranked no 11 in Sweden in 1990 ( boys 18 )...He had an OK career dont you think?

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Absolutely.

But times have changed. If you are 17 years old and are rated a 5.5 you're not going to make it to the pros. That is just the way it is. In holland there are a few 15 year old kids who are 5.5 and the chances of them making it are also slim.

But times have changed. If you are 17 years old and are rated a 5.5 you're not going to make it to the pros. That is just the way it is. In holland there are a few 15 year old kids who are 5.5 and the chances of them making it are also slim.

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Times have changed, but just because you are not a teen-prodigy like Wilander JMac Nadal Hewitt or Roddick still doesnt mean you are not gonna make it imo, maybe you are not gonna be top 10, sure. But i still think you can make a decent living out of it. As i said before tennisplayers are individuals and with lots of players there is a hugh increase between the age of 18-22,basically i agree with you but my point is that if you are not top notch at 17-18 there could still be hope for you. Im not entirely familiar with the NTRP-system, in Sweden roughly you get 10 % of a players point when you beat him.

Times have changed, but just because you are not a teen-prodigy like Wilander JMac Nadal Hewitt or Roddick still doesnt mean you are not gonna make it imo, maybe you are not gonna be top 10, sure. But i still think you can make a decent living out of it. As i said before tennisplayers are individuals and with lots of players there is a hugh increase between the age of 18-22,basically i agree with you but my point is that if you are not top notch at 17-18 there could still be hope for you. Im not entirely familiar with the NTRP-system, in Sweden roughly you get 10 % of a players point when you beat him.

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Sure there are some late bloomers. But i honoustly believe that if you are a 5.5 player at 17 you have zero chance of becoming a decent pro. With a lot of training you can make it up to 6.0 hell maybe even 6.5. But that would mean you can play no atp tournaments, or even win challengers.

Sure there are some late bloomers. But i honoustly believe that if you are a 5.5 player at 17 you have zero chance of becoming a decent pro. With a lot of training you can make it up to 6.0 hell maybe even 6.5. But that would mean you can play no atp tournaments, or even win challengers.

Either you are very good, or the site is wrong
How many points have you got ? You say you get 10% of your opponents points if you win? Does that mean the more you play the higher your rating gets? or can you also lose points ?

Either you are very good, or the site is wrong
How many points have you got ? You say you get 10% of your opponents points if you win? Does that mean the more you play the higher your rating gets? or can you also lose points ?

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I played a lot of futures 5-6 years ago.
Im not that good anymore but i can still hit that ball
I had 455 Swedish points until 2 years ago when i had my license (a number that allows you to play tournaments) withdrawn simply because i wanted to focus on coaching, i havent played a match for a long time by now. But it is protected, whenever i feel like competing again ill get 80% of my highest point (455) back.
Yes the more you play the more points you gain, if you win. If you play a lot and loose a lot, well then there is not gonna be a lot of points.

I played a lot of futures 5-6 years ago.
Im not that good anymore but i can still hit that ball
I had 455 Swedish points until 2 years ago when i had my license (a number that allows you to play tournaments) withdrawn simply because i wanted to focus on coaching, i havent played a match for a long time by now. But it is protected, whenever i feel like competing again ill get 80% of my highest point (455) back.
Yes the more you play the more points you gain, if you win. If you play a lot and loose a lot, well then there is not gonna be a lot of points.

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Ok so you had 455 points. which would make you a 6.0, which is very good. And if you started playing again now you would get 364 points (80%) Which would then make you a very good 5.5.

Ok so you had 455 points. which would make you a 6.0, which is very good. And if you started playing again now you would get 364 points (80%) Which would then make you a very good 5.5.

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Yes, but ive been practicing a lot with the best junior-player at my club so i guess im about the same levelwise as i was 3-4 years ago...atleast i hope so!
Btw, im gonna try to play some futures in Great Britain in January for the first time in 5-6 years, should be lots of fun!

Yes, but ive been practicing a lot with the best junior-player at my club so i guess im about the same levelwise as i was 3-4 years ago...atleast i hope so!
Btw, im gonna try to play some futures in Great Britain in January for the first time in 5-6 years, should be lots of fun!